During
the Second World War, despite his wife's Jewish ancestry and the considerable
support that BES had provided to numerous Jewish refugees that passed through
Lisbon, Espírito Santo came to be suspected by the British spy agency MI6 of
being sympathetic to the German side. With the German invasion of France, the
British Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII who, after his abdication,
had been living in Paris with his wife Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, made his
way to Madrid. The couple were planning to move on to Lisbon as a means of
reaching London by boat or plane, although it was unclear whether Britain
wanted them back. Pursuing Portugal's policy of neutrality, Salazar was
concerned not to upset Adolf Hitler, but he also did not want to annoy Winston
Churchill. He arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay with Espírito Santo at
his home in Cascais, rather than at a hotel in Lisbon, thus keeping the couple
out of view and away from German agents in Lisbon, who were aiming to persuade
them to go to Berlin. The Duke and Duchess stayed in Cascais for a month and
eventually left by ship on 1 August 1940, after the Duke had been appointed
Governor of the Bahamas. During the same period, Espirito Santo helped Maurice
de Rothschild and Baron de Rothschild to seek refuge in Portugal, receiving the
gratitude of both men.
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